The present device relates to an improved spit and method of using the improved spit to cook food over an open heat source. Rotisserie style cooking is utilized to cook meat adjacent an open heat source. In rotisserie cooking, the meat is often skewered on a spit, or long rod. The spit and meat are then placed by an open heat source, and rotated about the longitudinal axis of the spit. The rotation allows the heat to evenly cook the item and for the juices to flow about the meat, providing a mechanism for self-basting. Rotisserie cooking is generally used to cook large pieces of meat and whole animals, such as pigs, turkeys, goats, and chickens.
The use of horizontally held spits is common. In this arrangement, the spit is held horizontally over a heat source and usually an automatic mechanism is used to rotate the spit at one end. Balance is very important for horizontal spits because excessive weight out of balance may cause the rotation mechanism to break and stop rotating. Failure to rotate would lead the meat to be burnt on one side and undercooked on the other. Additionally, if the spit is not held substantially level, the meat may be pulled by gravity and slide to one end of the rod, which could again prevent the rotation mechanism from working, or may potentially cause the entire structure to fall over, ruining the food. Therefore, great care must be taken to ensure that the spit stays substantially level during the cooking process, which takes extra time and effort on the part of the person setting up the device.
A well-known method of rotisserie-style cooking is by using a rod, commonly referred to as a spit that is held horizontally over the heat source by two standards located on opposite sides of the heat source. The article of food to be cooked is skewered onto the spit and held over the heat source by placing the spit ends onto the standards. The spit can then be rotated either by manual methods, or by a mechanical device. As the spit is rotated about its longitudinal axis, each surface of the article of food is exposed to the heat evenly. Additionally, any juices that are released from, or coated onto, the food are evenly spread about the surface. After the food is thoroughly cooked, the spit and the food are removed from the standards and heat source and prepared for serving.
When large pieces of meat are placed on the spit, it becomes very heavy and awkward to handle. Two people are often required to secure the spit above the heat source due to the weight. Therefore, if the posts are not properly aligned, the people securing the spit may be frustrated at the need to realign the posts, which may be difficult or impossible to accomplish without placing the spit down. This readjustment requires additional time and potential frustration if alignment is not possible due to the ground surface.
Often times, the piece of meat or entire animal being cooked is large, heavy and too bulky for a single person to handle easily, which presents a potentially dangerous situation when an open flame or other heat source is involved. Additionally, after the food is fully cooked, it must be removed from the heat source prior to carving and serving. Due to the weight and size of the food, a single person cannot remove the spit from the heat source without additional help. One person is required to hold each end of the spit, so that it is held level as it is being moved to a table for carving. The requirement of two people may be inconvenient, or not possible in all situations. In conventional arrangements, uneven ground may present difficulty in aligning the posts to be vertical, in facing two posts towards each other, establishing a horizontal spit, or connecting each end of the spit to a post at an even height.
Therefore, based on the drawbacks often experienced with rotisserie cooking using a spit, what is needed is an improved spit device that is capable of being substantially leveled easily and can self-align the spit between two posts without regard to the placement of the posts. Also needed is a spit that is capable of holding large objects that can be removed from the heat source by a single person.